Thursday, December 6th

The debates on the extradition of a Turkish journalist living in Romania have been postponed by a week

Bucharest’s Appeal Court has postponed until next week, on December 14th, the debates in the case regarding the extradition of a Turkish journalist who is living in Romania. The authorities in Istanbul have accused Kamil Demirkaya of belonging to the movement led by the cleric Fetullah Gulen. The journalist has asked for time to prepare his defense and said that he had filed for asylum in Romania. Kamil Demirkaya has also said that he hopes he would not be extradited, because the judiciary does not work in Turkey, where torture could be used against those convicted or detained. He made his case on Thursday, during the first debates taking place at Bucharest Appeals Court.
Kamil Demirkaya: Of course that I do not want to be sent to Turkey. The academics and journalists are a target for the authorities there. As we speak, according to statistics that I am aware of, out of 326 journalists detained worldwide, around 170 are being held in Turkey.
The journalist has said that he lives in Bucharest with his wife and child and that he came here in 2016, because he did not feel safe in Turkey. He insists that he is not a terrorist and that he has relatives and friends that are incarcerated in Turkey. Romanian prosecutors decided not to arrest him.

European Commissioner Karmenu Vella has visited Romania

The European Commissioner Karmenu Vella, in charge of environment, maritime affairs and fishing is on a visit to Bucharest, where he was invited to take part in an international gathering on preserving biodiversity in Romania. The event is organized by the environment and defense ministries in Bucharest, as part of anniversary projects dedicated to the Centenary and aims to raise awareness of the political decision-making figures to leave a clean environment to the generations to come. The European official has already held talks with Romania’s environment minister Gratiela Gavrilescu, during a meeting on the circular economy, on issues related to the gathering and recycling of waste.

The Romanian Government is prepared to take over the EU Presidency – Juncker

The Romanian Government is ready to take over the Presidency of the European Union Council next year, President of the European Commission, Jean-Claude Juncker has said. The presidency will happen at a crucial moment for the future of Europe, Juncker added on Wednesday in Brussels, after a meeting with Prime Minister Viorica Dancila. The European official has also said that there are still some differences with Romania regarding the rule of law, but they will not affect the Presidency of the European Union.
Jean Claude Juncker: The Romanian government is well prepared for the presidency. Romania is facing some really difficult responsibilities and I am sure that Romania will manage to complete a large number of proposals that are still pending in the Parliament and in the Council.
Viorica Dancila has offered guarantees that Romania respects the rule of law, adding that the country wants an ambitious presidency, at a time of multiple challenges.